Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, brilliantly created by J.K.
Rowling. Most situations are based on those created by J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Eight: Happy Birthday, Hermione
The term was off to a good start, and it would soon be Hermione's sixteenth birthday. Ginny was planning a small party in honor of the occasion. She was also happy because she had made the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Chaser. As expected, Harry was made captain and so far he was running the team beautifully. Ginny, along with Ron and Hermione, was happy to see that Harry had a distraction, and that he seemed to think of Sirius and the events surrounding his death less and less.
Now it was Ginny's turn to create a distraction as she worked to keep Hermione's party a surprise. She was still trying to come up with the best way to keep Hermione out of the common room. She was trying to persuade Ron to take her to the library, where she knew Hermione could spend hours at a time, but Ron was reluctant. He was acting strange these days, and Ginny could only guess that he was finally figuring out his feelings.
Things were going well with Dean, Ginny thought. They had now been together four months. Ginny's feelings towards him had changed a little, but she still wasn't sure whether she was in love with him or not. She was terrified that Dean would say he loved her and that she wouldn't know what to say back, but it seemed as though for now they were just enjoying each other's company, and enjoying avoiding Ron's reprimands.
Ron was stressing over Hermione's birthday in another way. He wanted to find the perfect gift for her. He almost regretted giving her the owl necklace - which he noted with pride she wore almost everyday- for passing the O.W.L.'s. 'I should have waited until her birthday! How am I going to top it?!'
He turned to Ginny for advice. "Hey, Gin, what do you think I should give Hermione for her birthday?"
Ginny looked shocked that he was actually asking. "Well, Ron, I guess that depends on what message you're trying to send."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, are you going for a friendship kind of gift or do you want to show her that there might be something more?" Ginny asked.
"Friendship," Ron said, a little too quickly. "Definitely friendship."
"You sure?" Ginny asked.
"What are you getting at Ginny?"
"Well, it's just. I thought maybe you liked Hermione. I mean, as more than a friend," Ginny explained.
"No way!" Ron exclaimed. "She's just my friend."
'Your friend who you're in love with,' Ginny thought to herself. To Ron she said, "Okay, so you're going for the friendship kind of gift then." Ron nodded.
"Well, you have a couple of options," said Ginny. "You could get her something that you know she likes. I mean, you know Hermione well enough to know her interests."
"Reading," Ron said.
"Good," said Ginny. "You could get her a really nice book."
"But she has tons of books already!" Ron exclaimed. "Mine will just blend in with the rest."
"Well, you could try to find something rare, or something she doesn't have. Or something of particular interest," said Ginny. "Or we could just forget the book idea altogether, but it seems like it might be your best idea."
Ron sighed. 'Why do girls have to be so difficult?' he asked himself.
"Do you know what her favorite book is?" Ginny asked.
"Probably 'Hogwarts:A History,'" Ron said. "But she's already got that one."
Ginny thought for a moment, and she could see that Ron was also trying to think of the perfect book. Suddenly, an idea came to her. "I got it!" she exclaimed. "Why don't I try to find out what her favorite muggle book is, and then you can get it for her!"
"That's a great idea!" Ron exclaimed. "But can you get, like a really old one or something? So that it's special?"
"Probably," said Ginny. "Dad might know."
Ron smiled and planned to write to his father. "Thanks Gin," said Ron. "This is going to be really nice."
"I'm sure," said Ginny. "I'll make sure to ask Hermione about books the next chance I get, okay?"
"Thanks," Ron said, and he turned to leave, but he thought of something else. "Hey Gin? How do you know so much about this?"
"I'm a girl."
* * *
Ginny did her part of the work, and soon found out that Hermione loved the muggle book 'Little Women.' She told Ginny that her mother used to read it to her when she was a young girl. After finding that out, Ron wrote to his father, asking if he could pick it up for him in a muggle bookstore someday after work. His father wrote back and promised he would. He promised he would stay close to Ron's specifications. Ron had written him, telling him all he could find out about muggle books. He wanted the book in hardcover, and perhaps in some form of special edition. Mrs. Weasley was looking forward to the task.
In the meantime, Ron started to help Ginny with the party. Between that and Quidditch practice (training the new members) the two of them were extremely busy, and Ron saw Hermione only during class and at night in the common room. Their separation seemed to help them get along. Harry noticed that they fought quite a lot less than usual, and he suspected it was because they were glad for each other's company when they could get it and didn't want to waste time fighting. Ron was still upset from the night Hermione said they wouldn't always be together all the time and he seemed adamant in keeping his friends around him as much as he could.
* * *
The day of the birthday party drew nearer. Ginny finally persuaded Ron to ask Hermione for help with his homework and dragged her off to the library. The catch: he made Harry come as well. The good news was that they really DID have an essay to write for potions, which they had all ended up back in. Ron's dream of becoming a Healer was getting stronger and stronger and he wanted to do everything he could to ensure that he did.
"Do you want me to check over your essays?" Hermione asked the boys as she folded hers up, complete.
"When we get back to common room," said Ron, looking at this watch. "Maybe we should head up there now."
"We've only been here an hour," Hermione pointed out. "And you've barely written anything."
"I always get it done, don't I?" Ron said, feeling defensive. He was also feeling a little hungry and he knew that there would be plenty of food upstairs for him and he wanted to get to it. He was also nervous about his gift, which was tucked away under his pillow. His father had done a brilliant job of searching for the book. He sent Ron a very pretty copy of 'Little Women,' complete with beautiful pictures painted in watercolors that graced the book every couple of chapters. Ron was sure Hermione would love it, and he wanted to see the look on her face when he gave it to her.
"You sure?" Hermione asked. "Cause I don't want to be up late looking at it."
"I will finish it. All by myself," Ron said. And he added, for good measure. "I promise."
"All right then," said Hermione. "Let's head upstairs then. I have some reading to do anyway." As she packed her bags, Harry threw Ron a look that said, 'We'll see about that.' Ginny had managed to get Harry excited about the party as well, and he was also anxious to start the fun.
Hermione finished packing the bag and looked at her friends. Ron smiled at her and she felt her knees go weak for a second. "You - you ready?" she asked. Harry and Ron nodded and they stood and headed for the common room.
* * *
The portrait hole swung open and Ginny made everyone in Gryffindor quickly hide. Harry entered first, followed by Ron, and then Hermione. "Why is it so dark in here?" Hermione asked immediately.
"SURPRISE!!!!!!!" everyone jumped out of hiding and yelled. Hermione let out a small shriek and jumped.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.
"Harry Birthday Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, coming towards her. She and Hermione hugged.
"Ginny, did you do all this?" Hermione asked.
"Well, a girl only turns sixteen once," said Ginny.
"And I don't suppose you two had anything to do with this?" Hermione asked, gesturing towards Harry and Ron.
"Well, maybe a little," said Ron, and he blushed and looked down at his toes.
"Thank you all, then!" Hermione gushed, and she hugged Harry and then she went over and hugged Ron. As soon as she touched him, he felt his knees go weak, and he knew that he never wanted her to stop hugging him. Still, he let her go when she pulled away and smiled at her.
"Happy Birthday," he said softly.
Hermione swooned at the tone he used. "Thanks," she murmured before she was whisked away by Ginny to where all her gifts lay.
"Come on, open them up," said Ginny. "Here's one from your parents."
Ron watched from across the room as Hermione opened her gifts, reading the cards and reacting when she saw the presents. The pile on the table got smaller and smaller until Hermione got to the last one. Just then, Ron remembered that he had never gotten his gift, and he ran up to his dormitory. The book was safely under his pillow and he ran it downstairs. When he was halfway down, he stopped and watched the scene in front of him.
Hermione was talking to Ginny, Dean and Colin Creevey, and she was laughing. 'I like when she smiles,' Ron thought to himself. He continued to watch her in awe, moving around the room and talking to people without a care in the world. He felt a sudden urge to walk over to her and wrap his arms around her hold her close, but he fought it. Instead, he continued to watch until he heard a voice behind him.
"What are you looking at?" It was Harry.
Ron jumped. "Harry! Don't do that!" he exclaimed.
"Well, you seemed like you were sleepwalking. Sure you didn't fall asleep when you were up there?" Harry teased.
"I'm sure," said Ron. "I was just getting Hermione's present."
"Don't you think you should give it to her?"
"That was the plan," said Ron.
"Well, she's coming this way," said Harry, and before Ron could answer him, Harry walked down the stairs and Hermione made her way up.
"Where have you been?" she asked, as though she had been waiting for him to return.
"Well, I was just. uh. getting your present," Ron said, suddenly nervous to have her so close to him.
"Can I have it?" Hermione asked, seeing that Ron made no move to give it to her. He blushed and handed it to her, and looked down as she opened it, forgetting that he had wanted to see her reaction.
"Oh Ron, it's beautiful!" he suddenly heard her exclaimed. "Where did you find this?"
"Well, I told my dad what to get, and he found it at a muggle bookstore," Ron explained.
"It's wonderful," said Hermione. "This is my favorite book. How did you -?" The realization suddenly came to her. "So that's why Ginny was asking me about muggle books the other day!"
Ron blushed, and nodded, suddenly feeling silly that he had gotten his little sister to help him. "Well, she just found out what book you liked. I thought of the idea."
Hermione smiled, making Ron smile back. "Well, I love it. It's the best gift I've ever gotten."
'Ever?' Ron thought. 'Wow, I did a great job!'
"Well," said Hermione, seeming to read his thoughts. "I love my necklace too." She showed him that she was, in fact, wearing the owl necklace. They looked down at the people in the common room. "This has been a great day."
Ron smiled at her. "Happy Birthday Hermione."
Chapter Eight: Happy Birthday, Hermione
The term was off to a good start, and it would soon be Hermione's sixteenth birthday. Ginny was planning a small party in honor of the occasion. She was also happy because she had made the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Chaser. As expected, Harry was made captain and so far he was running the team beautifully. Ginny, along with Ron and Hermione, was happy to see that Harry had a distraction, and that he seemed to think of Sirius and the events surrounding his death less and less.
Now it was Ginny's turn to create a distraction as she worked to keep Hermione's party a surprise. She was still trying to come up with the best way to keep Hermione out of the common room. She was trying to persuade Ron to take her to the library, where she knew Hermione could spend hours at a time, but Ron was reluctant. He was acting strange these days, and Ginny could only guess that he was finally figuring out his feelings.
Things were going well with Dean, Ginny thought. They had now been together four months. Ginny's feelings towards him had changed a little, but she still wasn't sure whether she was in love with him or not. She was terrified that Dean would say he loved her and that she wouldn't know what to say back, but it seemed as though for now they were just enjoying each other's company, and enjoying avoiding Ron's reprimands.
Ron was stressing over Hermione's birthday in another way. He wanted to find the perfect gift for her. He almost regretted giving her the owl necklace - which he noted with pride she wore almost everyday- for passing the O.W.L.'s. 'I should have waited until her birthday! How am I going to top it?!'
He turned to Ginny for advice. "Hey, Gin, what do you think I should give Hermione for her birthday?"
Ginny looked shocked that he was actually asking. "Well, Ron, I guess that depends on what message you're trying to send."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, are you going for a friendship kind of gift or do you want to show her that there might be something more?" Ginny asked.
"Friendship," Ron said, a little too quickly. "Definitely friendship."
"You sure?" Ginny asked.
"What are you getting at Ginny?"
"Well, it's just. I thought maybe you liked Hermione. I mean, as more than a friend," Ginny explained.
"No way!" Ron exclaimed. "She's just my friend."
'Your friend who you're in love with,' Ginny thought to herself. To Ron she said, "Okay, so you're going for the friendship kind of gift then." Ron nodded.
"Well, you have a couple of options," said Ginny. "You could get her something that you know she likes. I mean, you know Hermione well enough to know her interests."
"Reading," Ron said.
"Good," said Ginny. "You could get her a really nice book."
"But she has tons of books already!" Ron exclaimed. "Mine will just blend in with the rest."
"Well, you could try to find something rare, or something she doesn't have. Or something of particular interest," said Ginny. "Or we could just forget the book idea altogether, but it seems like it might be your best idea."
Ron sighed. 'Why do girls have to be so difficult?' he asked himself.
"Do you know what her favorite book is?" Ginny asked.
"Probably 'Hogwarts:A History,'" Ron said. "But she's already got that one."
Ginny thought for a moment, and she could see that Ron was also trying to think of the perfect book. Suddenly, an idea came to her. "I got it!" she exclaimed. "Why don't I try to find out what her favorite muggle book is, and then you can get it for her!"
"That's a great idea!" Ron exclaimed. "But can you get, like a really old one or something? So that it's special?"
"Probably," said Ginny. "Dad might know."
Ron smiled and planned to write to his father. "Thanks Gin," said Ron. "This is going to be really nice."
"I'm sure," said Ginny. "I'll make sure to ask Hermione about books the next chance I get, okay?"
"Thanks," Ron said, and he turned to leave, but he thought of something else. "Hey Gin? How do you know so much about this?"
"I'm a girl."
* * *
Ginny did her part of the work, and soon found out that Hermione loved the muggle book 'Little Women.' She told Ginny that her mother used to read it to her when she was a young girl. After finding that out, Ron wrote to his father, asking if he could pick it up for him in a muggle bookstore someday after work. His father wrote back and promised he would. He promised he would stay close to Ron's specifications. Ron had written him, telling him all he could find out about muggle books. He wanted the book in hardcover, and perhaps in some form of special edition. Mrs. Weasley was looking forward to the task.
In the meantime, Ron started to help Ginny with the party. Between that and Quidditch practice (training the new members) the two of them were extremely busy, and Ron saw Hermione only during class and at night in the common room. Their separation seemed to help them get along. Harry noticed that they fought quite a lot less than usual, and he suspected it was because they were glad for each other's company when they could get it and didn't want to waste time fighting. Ron was still upset from the night Hermione said they wouldn't always be together all the time and he seemed adamant in keeping his friends around him as much as he could.
* * *
The day of the birthday party drew nearer. Ginny finally persuaded Ron to ask Hermione for help with his homework and dragged her off to the library. The catch: he made Harry come as well. The good news was that they really DID have an essay to write for potions, which they had all ended up back in. Ron's dream of becoming a Healer was getting stronger and stronger and he wanted to do everything he could to ensure that he did.
"Do you want me to check over your essays?" Hermione asked the boys as she folded hers up, complete.
"When we get back to common room," said Ron, looking at this watch. "Maybe we should head up there now."
"We've only been here an hour," Hermione pointed out. "And you've barely written anything."
"I always get it done, don't I?" Ron said, feeling defensive. He was also feeling a little hungry and he knew that there would be plenty of food upstairs for him and he wanted to get to it. He was also nervous about his gift, which was tucked away under his pillow. His father had done a brilliant job of searching for the book. He sent Ron a very pretty copy of 'Little Women,' complete with beautiful pictures painted in watercolors that graced the book every couple of chapters. Ron was sure Hermione would love it, and he wanted to see the look on her face when he gave it to her.
"You sure?" Hermione asked. "Cause I don't want to be up late looking at it."
"I will finish it. All by myself," Ron said. And he added, for good measure. "I promise."
"All right then," said Hermione. "Let's head upstairs then. I have some reading to do anyway." As she packed her bags, Harry threw Ron a look that said, 'We'll see about that.' Ginny had managed to get Harry excited about the party as well, and he was also anxious to start the fun.
Hermione finished packing the bag and looked at her friends. Ron smiled at her and she felt her knees go weak for a second. "You - you ready?" she asked. Harry and Ron nodded and they stood and headed for the common room.
* * *
The portrait hole swung open and Ginny made everyone in Gryffindor quickly hide. Harry entered first, followed by Ron, and then Hermione. "Why is it so dark in here?" Hermione asked immediately.
"SURPRISE!!!!!!!" everyone jumped out of hiding and yelled. Hermione let out a small shriek and jumped.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed.
"Harry Birthday Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, coming towards her. She and Hermione hugged.
"Ginny, did you do all this?" Hermione asked.
"Well, a girl only turns sixteen once," said Ginny.
"And I don't suppose you two had anything to do with this?" Hermione asked, gesturing towards Harry and Ron.
"Well, maybe a little," said Ron, and he blushed and looked down at his toes.
"Thank you all, then!" Hermione gushed, and she hugged Harry and then she went over and hugged Ron. As soon as she touched him, he felt his knees go weak, and he knew that he never wanted her to stop hugging him. Still, he let her go when she pulled away and smiled at her.
"Happy Birthday," he said softly.
Hermione swooned at the tone he used. "Thanks," she murmured before she was whisked away by Ginny to where all her gifts lay.
"Come on, open them up," said Ginny. "Here's one from your parents."
Ron watched from across the room as Hermione opened her gifts, reading the cards and reacting when she saw the presents. The pile on the table got smaller and smaller until Hermione got to the last one. Just then, Ron remembered that he had never gotten his gift, and he ran up to his dormitory. The book was safely under his pillow and he ran it downstairs. When he was halfway down, he stopped and watched the scene in front of him.
Hermione was talking to Ginny, Dean and Colin Creevey, and she was laughing. 'I like when she smiles,' Ron thought to himself. He continued to watch her in awe, moving around the room and talking to people without a care in the world. He felt a sudden urge to walk over to her and wrap his arms around her hold her close, but he fought it. Instead, he continued to watch until he heard a voice behind him.
"What are you looking at?" It was Harry.
Ron jumped. "Harry! Don't do that!" he exclaimed.
"Well, you seemed like you were sleepwalking. Sure you didn't fall asleep when you were up there?" Harry teased.
"I'm sure," said Ron. "I was just getting Hermione's present."
"Don't you think you should give it to her?"
"That was the plan," said Ron.
"Well, she's coming this way," said Harry, and before Ron could answer him, Harry walked down the stairs and Hermione made her way up.
"Where have you been?" she asked, as though she had been waiting for him to return.
"Well, I was just. uh. getting your present," Ron said, suddenly nervous to have her so close to him.
"Can I have it?" Hermione asked, seeing that Ron made no move to give it to her. He blushed and handed it to her, and looked down as she opened it, forgetting that he had wanted to see her reaction.
"Oh Ron, it's beautiful!" he suddenly heard her exclaimed. "Where did you find this?"
"Well, I told my dad what to get, and he found it at a muggle bookstore," Ron explained.
"It's wonderful," said Hermione. "This is my favorite book. How did you -?" The realization suddenly came to her. "So that's why Ginny was asking me about muggle books the other day!"
Ron blushed, and nodded, suddenly feeling silly that he had gotten his little sister to help him. "Well, she just found out what book you liked. I thought of the idea."
Hermione smiled, making Ron smile back. "Well, I love it. It's the best gift I've ever gotten."
'Ever?' Ron thought. 'Wow, I did a great job!'
"Well," said Hermione, seeming to read his thoughts. "I love my necklace too." She showed him that she was, in fact, wearing the owl necklace. They looked down at the people in the common room. "This has been a great day."
Ron smiled at her. "Happy Birthday Hermione."